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Jewish quarter in Daroca

The guilds, the hospital and the synagogue were concentrated in the square of the Jewish quarter

To begin with, the Jews occupied a space situated between the Castillo Mayor and the Grajera ravine. However, at the times of maximum expansion, that is, during the 13th and 14th centuries, the Jewish quarter also spread out towards the land situated opposite it, on the right-hand side of the aforementioned Calle Mayor, although in the following century, it had already withdrawn to its definite location. Not in vain, during a purchase that took place in 1419, mention was made that there had been residents of this group in the neighbourhood of Castell Nour, at that time uninhabited.

When, in 1458, the monarch reallocated part of the former ground to them (the texts then started to call it the judería nueva (new Jewish quarter) to differentiate it from the viexa (old quarter), and after the community had been re-established, the demarcation ran from the square of the church of San Pedro, the rise of Castillo Mayor, the wall and Calle Mayor. According to the report issued by the infante Alfonso in 1414, the neighbourhood is perfectly delimited, as it has gates that close its accesses. In 1477 reference was still made to the expenses paid out by the municipal coffers to fazer cerrar los postigos (close the wicket gates).

The design of the Jewish quarter was clearly Moslem-inspired. If we have a look at the Talmudic treatises the alleys or callizos that lead to the houses are four cubits wide, which guarantees intimacy, ventilation and light, whilst the main streets or carreras, have a minimum span of seven cubits so that carriages can travel along them.

Barrio Nuevo Street, previously Carrera Mayor of the Jewish quarter, and to a lesser extent, Josef Albó Street, which would be included in a lower category, fall within this latter category. The cultural and economic elite (merchants) lived in and around these streets, apart from devising the axes that connected the two main entrances to the district. The guilds, the hospital and the synagogue were concentrated in the square of the Jewish quarter, a place where people also gathered to celebrate the main festivities and ceremonies.

The Jews with modest resources lived around Hiladores and Escalerillas Streets. Caves were made on the slopes of the Castle, some inhabited as houses, the area being occupied by marginal classes. The town had many narrow, winding streets; the callexa clamada de la judería and la callexa del poço de Sant Pero, at whose entrances the wicket gates may have existed.

The houses were built with two storeys, apart from the cellar, where the kasher wine was jealously stored, and the falsa or loft. The ground floor was reached through a porch or hallway, which had different rooms or palacios, as well as stables and courtyards. At the back, some stairs led to the upstairs rooms.

The middle and more modest classes, mainly craftspeople, had very little space. Their houses measured approximately six cubits by eight, and contained very functional furniture. They were comprised basically of one or two bedrooms and a kitchen, on the first floor, where the family gathered around the fire, as only a few had a dining room and domestic service. Generally, they rented the houses, sharing some of the rooms with other families (courtyards, patios, etc.)

The craftspeople had their workshops inside the houses, normally on the ground floor, where tailors and hosiers used it as a botiga (shop) and workroom. The most profitable, with annual contracts, opened out onto the Calle Mayor.

It had shops that covered the food needs, some of them subject to strict rabbinic specifications, as occurred with the butcher’s shops. Their facilities were often visited by convert consumers, yearning after the quality of their products. Since 1390, when the opening licence was obtained from Queen Violante they had had their own bakeries, which became especially significant at Easter, when the maçot bread (unleavened bread) was prepared.

The first express mention of the synagogue refers to 1279 and Jews community had at least three sefer Torah, or rolls of the Law. Finally, and located outside the walls, because they transmit impurity, the cemetery.

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